In many applications it is very important to quickly and easily determine the status of battery parameters. For example, in some military applications it is important to determine the status of battery parameters such as voltage, charge status, battery type, battery chemistry, charge cycles undergone, and date of manufacture so that a military unit can be properly prepared and outfitted for a mission. Determining the status of such battery parameters has also become important in applications involving so called smart chargers which are operable to monitor and automatically charge a battery to which it is connected.
Presently, however, there are few devices that provide a quick and easy means for determining the status of battery parameters. In addition, there are few devices that are operable to determine the status of more than one battery parameter. Moreover, most conventional devices must make physical contact with the battery in order to obtain the status of such battery parameters. For example, conventional battery voltage indicators are operable to determine the status of only the battery voltage or charge, and must be physically connected to the terminals of the battery in order to determine such status information.